Sony Sued Over ‘Ghost Rider 2’ DVD Motorcycle Stunt Accident

A stuntman seriously injured while attempting to perform a stunt for the DVD release of the 2011 movie Ghost Rider 2 has filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Sony Pictures Entertainment and two other companies. The stuntman, Michael Gaboff, says in the suit filed Friday (read it here) that he was hired in April 2012 as an independent contractor to perform a stunt for the movie’s DVD release that the production teams knew or should have known involved serious risks and failed to take proper safety measures. Gaboff’s suit says he was to ride a motorcycle up a ramp after being set afire and leap across a lake and land in the water. The suit also alleges members of the production teams exhibited “conscious disregard” for Gaboff’s concerns about the risks. The stunt went wrong and Gaboff landed on hard ground, breaking numerous bones including his lower back and neck and suffering other injuries including second-degree burns. The suit says Gaboff was “rendered sick, sore, lame, disabled, and disordered, both internally and externally and suffered … numerous internal and external injuries, severe fright, shock, pain, discomfort and anxiety.”

Gaboff says he incurred as much as $1 million in medical expenses for treatment of his injuries, some of which he contends will likely be permanent. He also says he suffered loss of income that resulted from his inability to work. Alleging “negligence, peculiar risk, ultrahazardous, breach of contract”, Gaboff’s suit seeks general damages, medical and related expenses, loss of earnings and earning capacity, costs of the suit and interest as well as punitive damages.